(Hanoi) Vietnamese President To Lam, who was sworn in as head of the Communist Party on Saturday, has vowed to further step up a vast anti-corruption campaign that has already affected thousands of people in the country.
To Lam, 67, was appointed to the country’s most powerful post, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, on Saturday morning, two weeks after his predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong died at age 80.
“I will continue to step up the fight against corruption, no matter who is targeted,” To Lam assured Saturday at the party’s press conference announcing his nomination.
“We have won the trust of the people and our international friends in our struggle,” he said.
In the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping has already congratulated him, according to Chinese state television CCTV.
To Lam did not specify whether he would step down as president, which he has held since May, or continue in this largely ceremonial role.
Within hours of his appointment, the Vietnamese Communist Party (CPV) announced that it had accepted the resignations of four of its members for “violating party rules… and regulations on preventing and combating corruption and negative phenomena.”
The four members include a deputy premier, the minister of natural resources and environment and two provincial party leaders, the party said on its website.
Anti-corruption fight
Born in 1957 in Hung Yen province in the communist North, as opposed to the pro-American South at the time, To Lam is a pure product of the Ministry of Public Security, which he joined after studying at the police academy. He became its chief in 2016.
In 2011, the year Nguyen Phu Trong took over the leadership of the Communist Party, To Lam joined the party’s political bureau.
With To Lam in Public Security, dissidents have come under increased surveillance by authorities, who are accused of arbitrarily arresting and detaining journalists, environmentalists and human rights defenders.
The massive anti-corruption campaign dubbed “the burning inferno” has exposed financial scandals that have shocked the public and shaken the party, the police, the army and the business community, accustomed to backroom dealings that project an image of stability appreciated by foreign investors. Thousands of people have been brought to justice for fraud and corruption.
“To Lam was not afraid to bring down very important people” and “he will do it again,” said Carl Thayer, a professor at the University of New South Wales.
“Decision-making is now slower in Vietnam because officials are afraid of overstepping the mark and being accused of corruption. […] “To Lam has to solve this problem,” says Carl Thayer.
Steak covered in gold
By becoming president, To Lam ensured that a close associate was appointed to replace him as head of the police.
Under the guise of fighting corruption, To Lam has for years maneuvered to sideline his rivals in the race to succeed Nguyen Phu Trong.
His rise to the head of the country has only suffered one public setback.
In 2021, a scandal erupted after a video emerged of him eating a steak covered in gold flakes costing several hundred euros in a trendy London restaurant after visiting the grave of Karl Marx.
A noodle vendor who parodied the clip was later sentenced to several years in prison, despite calls from human rights groups to drop the charges.